NOLA in September?
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Whew! Take a few days off, the the board is hopping!!
Chelle -- what a wonderful convergence of happy things!! 2013 will be a good one, methinks!!
Maggie-2 -- The very best from Maggie-1. Know you and Dr. D. will do great this time around!! Look forward to hearing from you "on the other side."!
Cherrie -- There is no better feeling than "drain free!" WTG, girl!!
Best wishes to all of you heading into NOLA for surgeries. Healing thoughts and prayers for you.
Question: for those with unilaterals and having a flap in the contralateral (non-cancer) breast, were you given special instructions for annual mammograms? Like what to tell the docs? Mine coming up in April ...
Maggie
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Mother... I think we could all question ourselves... If we're in good enough shape prior to surgery... There is a nurse at SCSH who had a prophy, but her sister delayed. She wasn't ready... Her sister was then diagnosed and shortly after passed away... Try to keep focused on why you are doing this... You will indeed be beautiful in the end, no matter how much weight you want to drop.
Chelle... That's good to hear I am not alone on that... When did it feel ok to spin again?
4my4babies... I went for a consult for stage IIb, but did not go for stage IIa... I knew he'd do whatever he does best to fix all of my issues.... But for stage IIb I wasn't sure what my options were. I knew a baby flap was in the mix and wanted him to see me since it had been 14 months... Either way he will give you plenty of attention..0 -
mother..., it's normal to question this. I was prophylactic too (35 & BRCA2+) I scheduled my surgery over 6 months out so my son would be out of school and he could stay with family out of state while I was in NOLA. I had an MRI in November 2011 (Surgery was June 1, 2012) and when my pathology report came back, they found beginning stages of DCIS in my left breast. I can't tell you how many times I thanked GOD that I didn't wait too much longer to have the surgery and thanking my lucky stars that I decided to test for BRCA and opted for surgery. Like Betsy said, think about why you are doing this and just know you will look fabulous after everything is said and done. A friend of mine who lives here and we were in NOLA together went into surgery feeling the same way you are and now she says she never looked this good...
Betsy, to be honest I haven't gone back to spinning. I am doing other classes that don't involve sitting cause I was worried I was making things even worse. I thought about getting one of those gel seats and try that, but not sure if it would make a difference or not. I am really hoping that after another butt lift (if I decide to go ahead with another surgery) that I will be able to go back. It was pretty painful
Thank you all again for all the kind words!! This past weekend was one of the best weekends of my life. I am still reeling on cloud 9.
Kerry, it was great to meet you too even if it was for a brief time. I am so grateful for all the women I have had to chance to meet and hope that if I go back for stage 2b, that I will meet more.Congrats Cherrie for being drain free. I remember doing the happy dance once I lost all my drains...lol Then taking a shower and loving not having drains around my neck
Thinking of you Maggie!!
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Cherrie - WooHoo! Drain Free!!!! Yes.
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Chelle - All I can say is awesome! What a husband! I am glad that you have such a wonderful supporter in your corner.
Cherrie - Woohoo to losing the last drain! Those are the worst.
Betsy - I had my Stage 1 in June 2012 and still have some pain issues at the donor site. Mine is actually worse just below where the tissue was removed. I have hip flaps and my worst area for pain is upper thighs toward the back. If anyone else has experienced this I would be interested. I have wondered why an area where tissue wasn't removed is so painful. I really feel it if I try to run.
Good luck tomorrow, Mags!
Motherandchild - I would trust what the doctors tell you. Ultimately, trust your gut.
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I just left ps office for my post op and to have drain removed. Question...I know you ladies pull your drains. Does it hurt? This drain being pulled felt like something was being ripped out with it! Is it less painful when you do it yourself?
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Russell - my drains hurt like crazy with the mastectomies and TE/implants. BUT, with the flap surgery, no pain in the drains. Really interesting how it works, but goes with the way they move the skin and tissue, I guess.
I should say that I was so freaked out when my husband went to pull the hip drains that I took a dilauded and 3 mg of ativan. All took effect after he finished and I had a lovely nap for the rest of the day.
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Cherrie....hooray for you being drain free! I'm anxiously awaiting that day still!
4my4babies....If I lived closer, I certainly would have had liked to have had an earlier pre-op consult. I doubt very seriously that anything is going to be thrown at you from left field, though. If there was a problem, you'd certainly be aware of it at this point already.
motherandchild5...you're mind is playing tricks on you! I was/am a bit overweight (could stand to lose 30 pounds) and didn't have a single problem during stage 1 or 2. I did develop a small seroma in my abdomen, but I lost suction in one of my drains on my way home and that's why and where the seroma developed....didn't have anything to do with the extra pounds I'm carrying around. You've got a great opportunity to reduce your cancer risk significantly before anything happens....don't let that opportunity pass you by. It's going to be ok....you're in the very best of hands.
Melanie....Dr. D removed my breast drains and it didn't hurt a single bit. I've still got a hip drain and it does hurt. It's extremely sensitive and as much as I want it out...I'm DREADING it. Hubby will do it, but I'm taking two of my lortabs beforehand that's for sure!
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Ksue.. I had no pain at all until two days ago... and then after Spin, the incision hurts to the touch, not a deep pain.
Russell.... I have pulled maybe 15 drains myself, and none have hurt. You do need to make sure they are open, otherwise they are suctioning the whole way out, which would hurt a lot.
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Russell - I had a friend that was a nurse remove my drains. She said there are a couple of different kinds. At NOLA, they use the good ones! No pain at all - I didn't even know it was coming out.
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the preops are all done and Dr M is really confident that everything will be good. I do not know if I mentioned this last time around but the blood vessels in my abdomen had been cut and clamped from my previous cesareans leaving Dr M with not much left to work with. This time she got great sounds out of my "cheeks" and thinks only one will be sufficient to make the left side. She said that way (just in case) I would still have tissue to use if I needed another flap. I am feeling good now about this procedure. She did not have the look of confusion this time as she did back in Nov. Arriving at the Hospital at 6 am so by this time tomorrow I will be tucked into bed with 2 breasts again!!! Thank you all
Maggie-2
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Yay Maggie.. You are almost part of the club with different boob material (one butt and one ab).. I am now in a club by myself I think, one ab, and one butt/lat. You will do great!!!!
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celtic_antique -- I had 4 years of a unilateral flap reconstruction before I came to NOLA and had the other side done. I don't think there are any special instructions for mammograms other than making sure that the radiologist is aware of what surgery was done (both the reconstruction and any work that was done for symmetry on the contralateral side). I just wrote it all down on the forms they give you when you came in. From what I could see - I don't think the technician handles you any differently. Some places will only immage the non flap side, others will do both sides. There are many surgical clips in the flap side that will show up on the mammogram. If they do immage the reconstructed side you need a radiologist who has a lot of experience with this. If it is possible -its nice to have a radiologist that is dedicated to reading only mammograms and breast MRIs. I ended up having bilateral mammograms alternating every 6 months with bilateral breast MRIs.
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Ok thanks gals...I think I will take something before hand..at least for the first one!!!
Bdavis I would hope that my ps opened the drain beforehand, but you never know!! ouch!!!! Ksue..I have a nurse that lives on my street and I'm sure she would pull them for me. She has changed dressing for me. She is great.
Look at me already worrying about those stupid drains and I haven't even got them in yet!! lol
Mags...You are good to go..and all will be great!!!
Tracy....That's so good that your hubby will pull them, mine will but he will probably turn his head in the process!!!0 -
Audrella- you look beautiful! For some reason it would not take my post, so I posted here. Congratulations on your results. If you don't mind, could you tell me what size you were prior to the surgery? I am trying to tell how much larger can someone be made from their post op starting point. I'm so happy for you.
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Thanks Pamela! I was having trouble with the picture showing upside down, so I had to redo it several times. I was a 42D before surgery. Not sure what I am now, smaller I am sure. I am going to try to post some of my before pics if I can figure it out. Took me an hour to do the one lol.
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When I had my unilateral mastectomy going on 3 yrs ago my dr pulled my drain and it didn't hurt at all, made a funny sound but no hurt. I'm just praying this go round, which I will have more drains, that they don't hurt when they get pulled.
I made my plane reservations tonight and tomorrow go and get blood work, X-ray and EKG done at my local hospital. Did anyone do their recovery at Hope Lodge after surgery? I'm thinking on spending the first couple of nights before at a hotel close to things that me and my aunt can walk to and the after surgery recover at the Hope Lodge.0 -
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Just wanted to add my 2 cents ... I was prophylactic too and almost felt like I was making too much of it. Going in my risk was supposed to be 42%. I was being monitored and during the year I had had an MRI as well as a biopsy and several other tests. But when the path report came back after my mastectomy it turned out I had a previously undetected condition that raised the likelihood to 62%. Had I waited too long I would have developed lobular cancer.
If you have another 8 weeks left before your scheduled surgery you can lose another 12-16 pounds ... within range of your goal weight. I know it is hard to know what is right to do but 25 pounds over isn't so much and you never know how long you can delay.0 -
Hi everyone,
I have to make this quick but maybe someone will find this info useful? I just had BMX and S-GAP reconstruction with Dr. Stolier and DellaCroce last week and...
Regarding blood thinner, I did get several injections of that while I was in the hospital recovering. I don't know what specific drug they used but the injection site was my upper arm.
Regarding weight loss, I got diagnosed toward the end of a 2-year weight loss journey in which I lost around 120 lbs through diet and exercise. I was about 10 lbs from goal when I got a suspicious mammogram last fall, and soon realized I had to quit smoking in preparation for surgery. I promptly put on 20 lbs. Initially this was distressing, but I actually decided to STOP trying to lose weight, and focus on quality nutrition, weight maintenance, and strength training. I went to surgery physically stronger than I have ever been in my life, and purposefully slightly overfed. I'm not claiming this is the best way, but it seemed a reasonable approach to me. Statistics aside, it seemed more important for me to be strong, than light.
Regarding where to stay, before surgery my caretaker and I stayed in the French Quarter and tried and mostly succeeded in having some fun. After leaving the hospital, we went to the Hope Lodge (where I am right now as I write this!). It seemed to work very well for us - balancing fun, convenience, and economy - and we will probably do the exact same thing for Stage 2.
Regarding pre-op in-person consults, I have serious trust issues and I really wanted to come for a consult in advance, but on thinking it through, I realized that it would cost a good bit of money to get the same info in advance that I would get "for free" during my day-before-surgery appointment. I wondered whether I'd have enough time to absorb and consider what I'd be told before surgery, and I reasoned that if I wasn't sure I'd just say no! I asked Liz from the center what happened if someone changed her mind between the pre-op assessments and the next-day surgery, and she said that in 9(?) years of working there, that had never happened - and it didn't happen to me either.
Please feel free to ask questions here or in PM if you think I have more info you could use! I'm traveling tomorrow, but I will get back to you as soon as I can. I'll also have questions of my own... but for now it's time to sleep.
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Wow, Kim, you sound terrific! So glad that you are healing well and thank you for such reasoned contributions. Travel home safely1
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Go, Maggie!! Pulling for you!!
Besa, thanks for the info. At my annual last year, they only did the contralateral breast ... there is no breast other than what Dr. D. built from my hip/butt on the right side! I will send an e-mail to Jeanine. I am sure the doctors at Roswell will want to know the "technical" stuff and I am sketchy on that ...
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Hi there, I am trying to find the thread/catagory of images? the link where ladies post their Diep results etc...thanks so much!
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Its not a thread... You need to PM nowheregirl and ask for access.
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10 day update and feeling great! Pulled the last drain today, and hopefully my Merena will be here tomorrow. What a difference a week makes!!! I'm still a little swollen, but overall I feel great. Does it make me an idiot that I am already thinking I might want a 2b?? Eight days ago I was getting my third blood transfusion of the year and I promised my husband this was it...no matter what. Now, I feel great and my right breast (major trouble maker) is slightly larger than the left. Not a huge deal, but we'll see what the year brings.
I had my one year check up with my surgical oncologist today. Clean bill of health!
He was very impressed and said I had the best reconstruction he has ever seen. He laughed and said " if I hadn't removed your nipples myself, I would swear yours were natural!" So nice to hear that from a professional!!
I hope Mags is doing well...she has been on my mind all day. Prayers for a successful surgery for her today!!! I've been down her road, and it is not an easy one.0 -
So glad to hear you're doing well Dianne! That's wonderful news you got the all clear from your oncologist and yipeee for being drain free.
You're not an idiot at all.......I've thought about 2b as well. Think we all do at some point. Hubby encouraged me to not give it much thought until after summer is over. If i go in again, I do want it to be the very last time. So, my goal is to heal up completely and then some....we'll see if I can leave well enough alone until then.
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Dianne, so glad to hear you are doing so well. It's amazing what our bodies can do. I was in your exact same shoes last September. I had to receive a blood transfusion for stage 1 and stage 2 and had such a hard recovery. I swore to my husband that this was it...no matter what!!! I was nervous to even tell him, but I did and he is very supportive of another surgery if that's what I want to do. I have a consult with Dr. D on April 8th.
Maggie you have been on my mind all day too!! Sending prayers your way!!
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Dianne, we share the same surgery date. It does feel great to be drain free. It is nice to hear you are feeling great. I am too.
Melanie- the drains have never hurt coming out, but I always worried about it.
Thinking about Maggie today. I had visited her at the Center after her failed flap. She is a very upbeat person and I want her to be happy. Dr. M knows what she is doing. We are so lucky to have these doctors.
I finally measured my waist today. I have to say it is about the same as before, but I don't seem to swell much. However, my jeans feel slightly snugger at the waist.
I had my love handles and upper back lipoed. I am just now starting to see a little difference, especially in the love handle area. My back looks the same right now, but the bruises are there to prove it was worked on. How much time does to take to show? Days, weeks, months??0 -
Why do you think we are all thinking about a 2b? Is it they are not making the breasts symmetrical, is it that total symmetry is unobtainable, are we just scrutinizing too much, or does it really take two tries to shape everything perfectly? I have also wondered if the women going in with beautiful preop breasts have an easier time getting to their goal with one second surgery versus someone with more challenging breasts. What do you think?
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Hi all. I just wanted to report in that my Stage 2 last Friday was uneventful and I am back home. The biggest surprise was that I was unable to bathe after Saturday because most of New Orleans was under a water contamination watch and all water for drinking had to be boiled. The citywide water pressure dropped and there was concern about bacteria entering the water supply, so I couldn't bathe with my new incisions. Apparently this happens once or twice a year. Even the Icee machine was off limits.
We flew home yesterday (got breast drains out first) and I had a great shower today. I am also thrilled to report I am drain free as of today. And the pain has been much much less. Now am just using Tylenol. So far, knock on wood, this has been so so much easier than Stage 1, which had a lot of complications for me. For Stage 2, I had a butt lift, breast lift, and lipo on flanks and outer thighs. I spent two nights in the hospital because I was still feeling lousy after the first night, and when the water thing happened, they add if I wanted to stay a third night because of the extra hassle. So we had no hotel time after the surgery.
Thanks for the warm thoughts - sending them forward to those coming up!0 -
My surgery was prophylactic and I went into this with great looking breasts. That is why I had a hard time losing them. I will have a 2b and a 2c. I have one breast slightly higher than the other. It probably bothers Dr. M more than me. I also need scar revision. I can choose a really long surgery where this all gets done at once or separate into 2. My five hour surgery this time around was a piece of cake coming out of. The 10 hour one really took a toll on me. Still deciding.
I think they try to get them symmetrical, but as swelling goes down and some of the fat grafting absorbs, our docs know they can make it look better.
It is always our choice. I can accept a lumpy scar and breasts that are not symmetrical, but I want this to be the best I can have.0
